Bowel Cancer Awareness Month (April)

Posted on April 1st, 2018

The bowel is the last portion of your digestive tract. It is often referred to as the large intestine, and is made up of the colon and rectum. This is where waste products from your body (faeces) are stored until they are evacuated. You are more at risk if you are over 50 years old, however more than 2,500 people under 50 are newly diagnosed with this cancer each year.

Symptoms

Rectal bleeding

Change in bowel habits for over 3 weeks

Severe abdominal pain

Lump in your stomach

Unexplained weight loss

Unexplained fatigue

It is important to note that bowel cancer is treatable and curable, if diagnosed early enough. 90% of people diagnosed with Stage 1 bowel cancer survive for five years or over.

Statistics

There are approximately 41,000 new cases of bowel cancer in the UK each year, that’s equivalent to 112 people each day.

Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK.

Almost 16,000 people die from this disease every year in the UK, that’s roughly 307 people each week .

7% of men and 5% of women will be diagnosed with this type of cancer during their lifetime.